The Ottawa Senators made a spectacular charge up the standings to move into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference but three straight losses have left them back on the outside of the playoff picture. Ottawa, which trails eighth-place Boston by three points with a game in hand, looks to break out its funk when it visits the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Andrew Hammond sparked a 15-1-1 run by the Senators, who have allowed 13 goals in the three-game skid.

The Red Wings hold a three-point lead over Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division but have wobbled down the stretch, suffering their ninth defeat in 13 games (4-8-1) after blowing an early two-goal lead in a 5-4 setback at the New York Islanders on Sunday. Shaky goaltending and defense have victimized Detroit, which has surrendered 42 goals in the last nine losses. The Red Wings remain in control of their destiny with a home game against Boston following Tuesday's matchup.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS (Ottawa), FSN Detroit

ABOUT THE SENATORS (37-26-12): Hammond became the second netminder in league history to avoid a regulation loss in his first 15 starts (14-0-1) but the "Hamburglar" was shelled and suffered a back injury in a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday. Craig Anderson returned from injury to start the past two games but could not hold a two-goal, third-period lead in Saturday's overtime setback at Toronto before taking the loss Sunday against Florida. Hammond on Monday said he feels good to go, but coach Dave Cameron was non-committal on a starter for Tuesday.

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (40-23-12): Detroit has scored four times in each of the past four games but has only one win to show for it due to yielding 16 goals in the three losses, including five in an overtime setback to an Arizona squad which had tallied only seven times in the previous eight games. "The good thing is we score a lot of goals but we are letting in too many," captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "We’ve just got to find a better balance." Petr Mrazek was yanked for the fourth time in 12 starts Sunday and struggling Jimmy Howard stopped 15 of 16 shots in relief.

OVERTIME

1. Howard is 5-3-0 with a 3.15 goals-against average versus Ottawa.

2. Senators C Kyle Turris has five goals and three assists in the past six games.